Poor communication seems to be one of the most common challenges people face when it comes to effective collaboration. No matter the type of organization, everyone in it has different goals, responsibilities, aspirations, background, personal views and motivators. And when it comes to succeeding in our role, advancing in our career and achieving the company targets, one thing is certain – it is dependent on our ability to communicate with our colleagues successfully and secure the needed level of collaboration. It sounds logical enough, but you might be surprised how many times we struggle and fail, as it requires more than knowing the basics. You need to know how to approach a person professionally, develop rapport and shared understanding of what the task or issue at hand is and eventually – get the job done, preferably with great results.
When we put it this way, it may sound rather difficult, even exhausting, especially for people who tend tо be more straight-forward and result-oriented.
Nevertheless, should you want to minimize situations where you are misunderstood and failing to perform to the best of your abilities, keep in mind the following strategies that will help you collaborate with people more effectively:
- Set a clear goal – Make sure you have your priorities sorted out and what you need to achieve them. Consider objectives, deadlines, timelines, participants and dependencies, as well as the processes and tools you will use to establish a good communication flow and regular feedback loops to avoid misunderstandings.
- Know your audience and stakeholders – It is not only about the thing you need to do, but also about who you need to include, who you are doing it for and if there is someone else helping you. Each concerned party may have its own working style, preferences, ideas or challenges. So if you do your homework well and acknowledge the “big picture”, you can better explain what you need from everyone involved and how you can also help them in the process so that you create a “win-win” situation.
- Be open, clear and concise – Once you have the goals and participants aligned, make sure you share enough details for everyone to be able to do their part. Keep in mind if you have people from different levels (peers vs superiors, internal vs external etc) or from different sectors and accommodate your terminology or formality during the conversation and make sure you convey your message well enough so it is heard and understood.
- Listen actively and be open for feedback – There is also the part where you are not the one doing the talking and aligning, but you are listening – for feedback, for ideas, for showing respect to the other person. Should you want to build a better connection with someone, they need to feel that you care, you have a ear to listen and you are just as engaged as you want them to be. After all, effective collaboration is a two-way street and it takes time to develop. This is paramount for the next point:
- Build relationships and your network – Your workplace is where you spent at least 1/3 of your day. And regardless of the size of your company, you have to communicate with people – be it your peers, superiors, direct reports or clients. So it is important what your relationship with them is – the healthier it is, the more positive the environment for everyone will be, which means that also the work itself could become more enjoyable.
- Utilize the right technologies and communication channels to your advantage – In the modern era we have so many ways to communicate – online, live (including verbally and via body language), via chat, phone, conference calls, e-mails. Make sure that whenever you have a specific goal or message to convey, you pick the right setting. For example – don’t expect immediate response from anyone, if it is something urgent for you, but the person is out of office or in a parallel meeting/call. Mind the context and don’t be quick to escape from the responsibility of thinking beforehand.
These are only a few things to keep in mind if you do not want to end up in the situation of the two ladies above. 😉
Author: Ivanina Ivanova
